Plans for Weeping Willows subdivision move forward in Aiken County

Mar. 18—The Aiken County Planning Commission received additional information during its meeting March 17 about plans for the Weeping Willows subdivision.

And the panel's response was favorable.

Last October the Planning Commission unanimously approved, with contingencies, a zoning change from Urban Development to Planned Use District Type A for Weeping Willows' 174.47-acre site.

Bounded by Old Aiken Road and Jefferson Davis Highway/U.S. Highway 1, it is located between North Augusta and Clearwater.

There will be single-family homes, townhomes and apartments in the subdivision along with a looping trail system and other amenities.

On March 17, Tracey Turner of Turner Development LLC asked the Planning Commission to amend the Planned Use District Type A designation and also to approve the design (preliminary plat) for the opening phase of the development.

"Really, this is no more than taking a section of single-family homes and turning it into townhomes," said Joel Duke of the amendment.

He is the county's chief development officer, an assistant county administrator and the director of the county's Planning and Development Department.

The commission's vote to allow the amendment was unanimous.

The panel also was unanimous in its decision to approve the preliminary plat for the first part of the Weeping Willows property to be developed. There will be 89 lots on approximately 27 acres for the 40 single-family homes and 49 townhomes.

During a public hearing, Rosa Griffin, who lives on Old Aiken Road, expressed concerns about the plans for Weeping Willows.

She said the subdivision would create "a big traffic mess."

Weeping Willows "is going to make chaos through this whole area," Griffin continued. "I don't see how we're going to support this kind of traffic."

She also complained about fallen tree limbs that hadn't been removed from the Weeping Willows land and predicted that the trash problem in the area would increase.

In response, Turner said that turning the Weeping Willows property into a subdivision would generate more tax dollars for the county and increase the amount of money available to the county to remove tree limbs and trash.

"We've done a traffic study," he said. "We will have three entrances and exits on Old Aiken Road and one main (access) on Jefferson Davis Highway."

Turner Development purchased the land for Weeping Willows for $1.222 million from Haskell Family Properties LLC last February.

There used to be a plantation on the property. Later, it was a dairy farm for many years.

Eight members of the Planning Commission were present at the March 17 meeting, which was held at the Aiken County Government Center in Aiken. They included Chairwoman Grace Vance, who didn't vote.

The panel also unanimously approved, with contingencies, the following:

—Phases 2 and 3 of the River's Crossing subdivision, with 145 lots on 36.61 acres, on Williams Lane near Aiken

—Phase 2 of the Galphin Plantation subdivision, with nine lots on 87.77 acres, on Storm Branch Road near Beech Island.

—Phase 5 of The Vista, with 60 lots for townhomes on 8 acres, on Jefferson Davis Highway/U.S. Highway 1 near Warrenville.

In addition, the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend to County Council a zoning change for 9.65 acres at 127 Crown Crest Lane near Aiken. The current zoning designation for the property is Industrial. Its new designation would be Rural Development.

For more information about Weeping Willows, visit weepingwillows.com.

Dede Biles is the county government, business and horse industry reporter for the Aiken Standard.